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{{Redirect|WP:FICTION|the style guideline|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction}}
{{guideline with shortcut|]}}
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{{Notability essay|WP:FICT|WP:FICTION|WP:NFICT}}
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{{Nutshell|Fictional elements are expected to follow the same ] guidelines as any other topic.}}
{{IncGuide}} {{IncGuide}}


There is no special guideline for the '''notability of fictional elements''' (such as characters and episodes) on Misplaced Pages. See other relevant ] in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Misplaced Pages. In particular, editors should review:
⚫ ==Fiction in Misplaced Pages==
* The ]
* The policy on ]
* The manual of style for ]


For starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.
#'''Major characters''' (and places, concepts, etc.) in a work of fiction should be covered within the article on that work of fiction. If the article on the work itself becomes long, then giving major characters an article of their own is good practice.
#'''Minor characters''' (and places, concepts, etc.) in a work of fiction should be '''merged''' with short descriptions into a ''"List of characters."'' This list should reside in the article relating to the work itself, unless either becomes long, in which case a separate article for the list is good practice. The list(s) should contain all characters, races, places, etc. from the work of fiction, with links to those that have their own articles.
#Fictional characters which are '''cultural icons''' appearing in works of fiction not directly linked to themselves (e.g. as ] or guest appearance) deserve articles of their own, regardless of other circumstances.
#It is useful to add '''redirects''' to the article page or list of minor characters, from anything that's listed in there.
#It is often informative to include '''plot summaries''' (and other ]) in articles on works of fiction. However, please keep them reasonably short, as the point of Misplaced Pages is to describe the works, not simply summarize them. It is generally appropriate for a plot summary to remain part of the main article, not a lengthy page of its own. Please see the ] section below for guidance and examples.


==History and rationale==
===Examples===
Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Misplaced Pages. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.
*] from the '']'' films is a major character, and the major points of his character are covered in the article, but he is elaborated on in a separate article devoted to the character.
*] from the '']'' books is a major character, and has her own article because the main article would get too long otherwise.
*Prince Corwin from '']'' (and sequels) is a major character, and is covered in the main article.
*] from '']'' is a minor character, and is covered in a list of minor characters.
*] is universally well known and transcends the original work he appeared in, so he has his own article.
*] is an example of a list that was created from a group of short articles.


==Being bold== ==Improving articles==
Information that may help provide the real-world discussion necessary for an encyclopedia article about a fictional topic includes reception, analysis, significance, development, legacy and influence, and relationships with or comparisons to other media. Dedicated sections are good, though sometimes in less developed articles, such information is contained in the lead but not the body.
If you find articles (particularly stubs) on fictional characters (and places, concepts, etc.) you may want to ] and merge them into an appropriate article. This allows the information to become more organized and easier to access. However, if you should do so, '''do not delete meaningful content'''.


Bear in mind that content in such information should be referenced to ], independent sources.
You should obviously remove redundant headers ('this is a fictional character from such-and-such book by such-and-such author'), but you should not summarize or otherwise reduce the articles in question.


If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to ] and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of ] can also take the form of ] the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.
==Details==
This ''guideline'' was created from strong consensus at ] and other discussion at ]. It is not official policy, but should be helpful for making a decision on keeping, merging or deleting of fiction-related articles.


==Relevant guidelines and policies==
If you are unfamiliar with a certain field or are unsure whether some character (concept, place, etc.) should be considered minor or major, please ask around on the relevant talk pages before making radical changes.
===Notability guidelines===
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Notability}}
The ] is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.


There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:
Fiction includes books, TV series, films, computer games and roleplaying games, and possibly other sources.
* ]
* ]
* ]


⚫ ===What Misplaced Pages is not===
'''Fan'''fiction, on the other hand, may well be considered ''vanity'' (not by default, but often so), which is grounds for deletion. This includes anything self-published, put on fanfiction.net, or done by vanity press; information about a character in roleplaying or MMORPGs; and computer game mods or custom maps.
{{main|Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not}}
Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly ]. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.


===Manual of style===
Fiction not yet written may be considered ''speculation'' (again, not by default, but often so) which is grounds for deletion because ]. This includes not-yet-released books, movies, games, etc., unless there has already been substantial hype and press coverage about the to-be-released item.
{{main|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)}}
Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review ] and ] to understand the general approach and content of these articles.


==Lists of fictional elements==
See also ].
Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) ''may'' be grouped into an appropriate list article. Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at ] and at ].


==Consult Wikiprojects==
==Making good use of Wikibooks and Wikisource==
Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:
], Misplaced Pages's sibling project, contains instructional and educational texts. These include annotated works of fiction (on the ]) for classroom or private study use. ], similarly, holds original public domain and GFDL source texts. See ].
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


A ] was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.
One possible course of action to consider, which has already been successfully employed for several works of fiction, is to make use of all of the projects combined: to have an encyclopaedia article about the work of fiction on Misplaced Pages giving a brief outline, a chapter-by-chapter annotation on Wikibooks, the full source text on Wikisource ('''if''' the work is in the public domain), and ] joining them all together into a whole.


==Previous proposals==
===Examples===
* ], the original attempted rewrite from c. 2007-2009
*''Atlas Shrugged'' has ] and ].
* ], a previous failed proposal from 2007
*''Lord of the Flies'' has ] and ].
* ], a previous proposal abandoned in 2008
*''Of Mice and Men'' has ] and ].
* ], a previous failed proposal, in 2011 recategorized as an essay
*The ''Harry Potter'' series of novels has encyclopaedia articles on the individual novels on Misplaced Pages (such as ]) and a ] on Wikibooks, comprising a detailed book-by-book chapter-by-chapter annotation of the whole series, including a topical index to link each topic in Harry Potter to the chapters in which it appears.


==Related topics== ==See also==
*]
* The proliferation of fictional-universe-related articles is considered in the Misplaced Pages page ] and its talk page.
*]
*]


] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 22:58, 15 December 2023

"WP:FICTION" redirects here. For the style guideline, see Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Writing about fiction. Essay on editing Misplaced Pages
This is an essay on notability.
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Misplaced Pages contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Misplaced Pages's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.		Shortcuts
This page in a nutshell: Fictional elements are expected to follow the same notability guidelines as any other topic.
Notability
General notability guideline
Subject-specific guidelines
See also

There is no special guideline for the notability of fictional elements (such as characters and episodes) on Misplaced Pages. See other relevant policies and guidelines in order to determine which fiction-related articles are appropriate for inclusion on Misplaced Pages. In particular, editors should review:

For starters, the main work must be notable to begin with. If the work itself is not notable, it may be pointless to discuss the notability of its characters or episodes.

History and rationale

Several attempts have been made to establish specialized guidelines to cover the notability of fictional elements within Misplaced Pages. Until there is a successful proposal to treat fiction in a specialized way, consult other policies and guidelines for guidance on a wide range of topics, including fiction. Existing policies and guidelines have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards that all users should normally follow.

Improving articles

Information that may help provide the real-world discussion necessary for an encyclopedia article about a fictional topic includes reception, analysis, significance, development, legacy and influence, and relationships with or comparisons to other media. Dedicated sections are good, though sometimes in less developed articles, such information is contained in the lead but not the body.

Bear in mind that content in such information should be referenced to reliable, independent sources.

If such sections do not exist, before nominating the article for possible deletion, please adhere to WP:BEFORE and check whether sources to improve the article exists. A possible solution in the spirit of WP:PRESERVE can also take the form of redirecting the article to a list of similar entities or the article about the related, notable work this fictional element appears in.

Relevant guidelines and policies

Notability guidelines

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Notability

The Misplaced Pages's general notability guideline is appropriate and sufficient for demonstrating the notability of fictional elements. Specifically, fictional elements are presumed to be notable if there is significant coverage in independent secondary sources about the fictional element; when a fictional element is presumed notable, a separate article to cover that element is usually acceptable.

There are specialized notability guidelines for works of fiction which can be found in the following guidelines:

What Misplaced Pages is not

Main page: Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not

Articles on fiction are expected to follow existing content policies and guidelines, particularly Misplaced Pages is not simply plot summaries. Articles on fiction elements are expected to cover more about "real-world" aspects of the element, such as its development and reception, than "in-universe" details.

Manual of style

Main page: Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style (writing about fiction)

Editors interested in writing articles on fictional elements are encouraged to review Writing About Fiction and Misplaced Pages:Writing better articles#Check your fiction to understand the general approach and content of these articles.

Lists of fictional elements

Individually non-notable elements of a fictional work (such as characters and episodes) may be grouped into an appropriate list article. Advice for the appropriateness of these list articles can be found at the general notability guideline and at Stand-alone Lists and Topics.

Consult Wikiprojects

Editors should also review guidelines and recommendations made by WikiProjects that deal primarily with works of fiction. These include but not limited to:

A Misplaced Pages:Fiction/Noticeboard was created in 2009 but it was retired in 2010.

Previous proposals

See also

Categories: